Desmond's was a Los Angeles–based department store, during its existence second only to Harris & Frank as the oldest Los Angeles retail chain, founded in 1862 as a hat shop by Daniel Desmond[1] near the Los Angeles Plaza.[2] The chain as a whole went out of business in 1981[3] but Desmond's, Inc. continued as a company that went in to other chains to liquidate them. Desmond's stores in Northridge and West Covina were liquidated only in 1986 and survived in Palm Springs into the first years of the 21st century.[4]
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Industry | Retail |
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Founded | 1862 |
Headquarters | California |
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Desmond%27s_Tower_at_5514_Wilshire_Blvd%2C_Los_Angeles%2C_CA_90036.jpg/220px-Desmond%27s_Tower_at_5514_Wilshire_Blvd%2C_Los_Angeles%2C_CA_90036.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/DesmondsWestwood1925.jpg/220px-DesmondsWestwood1925.jpg)
Origins as a hat store
editIn 1862, the second year of the American Civil War and the 16th year that the US ruled California, Daniel Desmond arrived in the state via clipper ship via Cape Horn, Chile, as there was no transcontinental railroad. Los Angeles had a population of less than 4,500 and Desmond opened a hat shop on the Los Angeles Plaza. It measured only a few square feet and he was the only employee. Popular styles included tall, plush "toppers" that dandies wore, and wide-brimmed, flat-crowned "fiesta" hats popular with the Californio dones (gentlemen). Desmond was a member of the volunteer fire department.[5]
Locations as a single store
editIn 1870 Desmond and other leading retailers moved to the Temple Block (Los Angeles) on Main Street.[5]
In 1882, Desmond moved to no. 4 North Spring St., leading other retailers in moving to a new central business district around First and Spring streets, which was, according to the Los Angeles Times in 1937, "the rendezvous for socialites from San Francisco to Baja California". Desmond's opened in the Nadeau Block there.[5]
In 1890, around the time that Los Angeles started horse-drawn streetcar service. Desmond moved his store to its fourth location, in the Bryson Block, 141 S. Spring St. at the northwest corner of 2nd St., which only ten years earlier had been considered "the country".[5]
In 1900, Desmond's moved to its fifth location at Third and Spring in the Ramona Block, home to the Hotel Ramona.[6]
In 1906,[6] when it moved again across the street to the Douglas Building at 301 S. Spring St., its sixth home, as one of the largest retailers in Los Angeles at that time. Around this time Desmond's became a store of reference across Southern California, well known for a broad range of high quality men's attire.[5]
In 1915, Desmond's moved to its seventh location, a new two-story building on 553 S. Spring St., and added women's and boys' shops. The building was demolished in 1924 to make way for the Pacific Southwest Trust and Savings Bank.[7]
1924 flagship store
editIn 1924, Desmond's moved to its eighth and final location as a single store at 616 Broadway, a street lined at that time with many other department stores such as The Broadway, May Company, the Fifth Street Store, Silverwoods, Bullock's, N. B. Blackstone, and Eastern Columbia.
Desmond's opened its final flagship store in 1924 at 616 South Broadway in what was then the department store district of Downtown Los Angeles. Designed by the firm of Albert C. Martin, Sr., the 85,000 sq ft (7,900 m2), six-story building has been described as both Beaux-arts and "Spanish".
The 616 Broadway store closed in 1972.[8]
In 2018 the landmark building was renovated as office space, a restaurant and a rooftop bar.[3]
Address | Opening date | Closing date | Current building use |
---|---|---|---|
Temple Block, Spring/Main at Temple | 1870 | 1882 | demolished |
4 N. Spring at 1st (now 104 N. Spring) | 1882 | 1890 | demolished |
Bryson Block, 141 S. Spring at NW corner of 2nd | 1890 | 1900 | demolished |
Ramona Block, 3rd/Spring | 1900 | 1906 | demolished |
301 S. Spring st 3rd | 1906 | 1915 | |
543 S. Spring St.,[9][5] SE corner Spring Street Arcade |
1915 | 1924 | Clayton's Public House |
616 S. Broadway | September 15, 1924[10] | 1972 | Renovated 2018, now office space, restaurant and rooftop bar.[3] |
Branches
editDowntown branches
editDesmond's would add branch stores starting in 1927 with Seventh and Hope,[5] and would also operate a branch in the Spring Arcade at 543 Spring Street, next door to the Pacific Southwest Trust and Savings Bank on Spring Street, which occupied the site of its former sole store.
Suburban growth
editOpened | Closed | City/ district | Location | Sequence | Architects | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1927[11] | 1934 | W. 7th St. | Roosevelt Bldg., 717 W. 7th St. at Hope | 3rd | Curlett and Beelman | Ca. 7,500 sq ft (700 m2).[12] Currently a restaurant, Shoo Shoo Baby.[13] |
1929[5] | late 1980[14] | Miracle Mile | 5500 Wilshire Bl. | 4th | Gilbert Stanley Underwood | Occupied the Wilshire Tower building together with Silverwoods. Now The Desmond on Wilshire, residential building,[15][9] Architect Underwood was known for nature-inspired designs of lodges in national parks. |
Mar 1930[16] | Westwood[9] | 1001 Westwood Bl., SW cor. Weyburn[17] | 5th | John and Donald Parkinson[18] | Original store (1930) cost $200,000 to build.[18] In 1940, expanded its original store into what it called a $300,000 "tropical Mediterranean-style" store, double the size.[19][20] Now a CVS.[21] | |
Aug 21, 1931[9] | Long Beach[9] | 140[22] E. Broadway at Locust[23][9] | 6th[24] | Bought and took over the Dodd & Hillis clothing store.[24] | ||
1934[11] | W. 7th St. | 2nd Union Oil Building, 617 W. 7th. St. | Curlett and Beelman | 22,500 sq ft (2,090 m2) (1934), expanded to 37,500 sq ft (3,480 m2) in 1937,[12][25] called "a $400,000 investment".[5] Currently a Walgreens[26] | ||
Nov 14, 1936[27][28] | 2005[29] | Palm Springs[27] | Palm Springs Plaza | [30] | Was long a seasonal store. | |
Mar 1953[31] | Crenshaw District | Broadway-Crenshaw Plaza[31][32] | 7th[33] | Burke, Kober & Nicolais | 30,000 sq. ft. on two floors.[31] Largest speciality store in the shopping center.[33] | |
Jun 1, 1955 | Pasadena | 440 S. Lake Av. | 8th | Burke, Kober & Nicolais[34] | 8th store | |
Sep 17, 1958 | Santa Ana | Santa Ana Fashion Square | 9th[35] | |||
Apr 30, 1962 | Sherman Oaks | Sherman Oaks Fashion Square | 10th | 20,000 sq ft (1,900 m2)[36] | ||
Apr 30, 1962[36] | West Covina | West Covina Fashion Center | 11th | |||
Oct 16, 1962 | Whittier | Whittwood Shopping Center | 12th | 20,000 sq ft (1,900 m2)[37] | ||
Aug 28, 1964 | Ventura | Buenaventura Center | 13th | Burke, Kober & Nicolais | 18,500 sq ft (1,720 m2))[38][39] | |
Nov 1964 | Lakewood | Lakewood Center | 14th | 17,000 sq ft (1,600 m2)[40] | ||
Mar 1966 | Torrance | Del Amo Center | 15th | Burke, Kober & Nicolais[41] | ||
Aug 29, 1966[23] | Glendale | Glendale Fashion Center | 16th | |||
Aug 11, 1967 | Santa Barbara | La Cumbre Plaza | 17th | Interiors by Burke, Kober and Nicolais[42] | ||
Sep 11, 1967[43] | Newport Beach | Fashion Island | ||||
Oct 1971[44] | 1987[45] | Northridge | Northridge Fashion Center |
Gallery
edit-
Daniel Desmond
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1903: the turreted Hotel Ramona with Desmond's sign
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Desmond's Spring Street Store (1915 to 1924)
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Illustration of various Desmond's store branches from a 1937 ad
Ownership
editRalph R. Huesman, purchased the store from Desmond family heirs in 1921. Fred B. Huesman, his nephew, joined Desmond's five years later. Fred succeeded his uncle as president in 1944 and continued in that position until 1973, when he took the title of chairman. In the early 1960s, New York's Cluett Peabody & Company bought Desmond's.
1977–1981 and epilogue
editIn 1977, a joint venture of Bond Clothing Stores and Harold Kapelovitz bought the chain, and Kapelovitz took over the management of Desmond's.[46][47]
Between 1977 and 1982 Desmond's closed all but four California locations.
Meanwhile, it opened locations across the Western United States:[48]
- Arizona
- Colorado: Mesa Mall, Grand Junction[49]
- Iowa: Southern Hills Mall, Sioux City
- Montana
- North Dakota (2): Dickinson, Bismarck (6,000 square feet, opened 1980,[50] closed 1986)
- Texas (3): Austin, Midland, Odessa
- Wisconsin
Northridge and West Covina stores continued operating until 1986.[4]
Kapelovitz sold the Palm Springs La Plaza store to Frank Gross and Stanlee McNeish, and it continued under the Desmond's name until 2005.[29] A separate "Desmond's Big and Tall" Store in Palm Desert Town Center continued operating after that time.
Desmonds, Inc. post-1981
editDesmond's Inc. continued as a company after the Desmond's chain was closed, purchasing San Diego–based Walker Scott in 1985 and liquidating it the next year;[51] and hired to manage the liquidation of Babbitts department store in Flagstaff, Arizona in 1987.[52]
External links
edit- Photo of the 2nd Union Oil Building at 617 W. 7th St., showing Desmond's advertisement painted on the building's east wall. The 7th & Hope branch store was located in the building after 1934 when it moved from the Roosevelt Building one block west at 717 W. 7th St.
- Photos of all Desmond's stores in December, 1935
- Photo of Desmond's Long Beach in 1931
References
edit- ^ Los Angeles Herald, Volume XXX, Number 113, 25 January 1903
- ^ "13 Mar 1953, 29 - The Los Angeles Times at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved on 16 April 2019.
- ^ a b c Vincent, Roger. "Historic home of clothier Desmond's is ready for its comeback on Broadway". latimes.com. Retrieved on 16 April 2019.
- ^ a b "Vacant Desmond's Palm Springs 2007". The Desert Sun. 9 March 2007. p. 1.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Desmond's in Seventy-Sixth Year", Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct 1937, Page 8
- ^ a b Desmond's advertisement, Los Angeles Times 12 Sep 1924, Page 5
- ^ "Business Adds New Buildings: Two Structures Will Cost $2,000,000: Sites Obtained on Broadway and Springs Street: Finest Arcade in West Under Consideration". Los Angeles Times. April 11, 1923. p. 19.
- ^ "Ad for Desmond's Downtown LA Removal Sale". Los Angeles Times. February 10, 1972. p. 7.
- ^ a b c d e f "Now in Long Beach"/branch listing in Desmond's advertisement, Los Angeles Times 1 Sep 1931, Page 5
- ^ Gray, Olive (September 16, 1924). "New Desmond Store Opened". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ a b "Desmond's New Store Open Today". The Los Angeles Times. 5 March 1934. p. 26. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Reasons for Expansion Told: Desmond Chief Cites Handicaps of Limited Space". The Los Angeles Times. 21 October 1937. p. 9. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ "717 W. 7th St., Los Angeles". Google Maps.
- ^ Betsky, Aaron (February 21, 1991). "Miracle Mile's Desmond Building Designed to Rise Above the Rest". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Kudler, Adrian Glick (9 May 2012). "Wilshire's Desmond's Dept. Store Development Back as Rentals". Curbed LA. Retrieved on 16 April 2019.
- ^ "Merchants Open New store in University Area: Nine Shops Open Doors This Week". The Los Angeles Times. 16 March 1930. p. 72. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ Schultheis, Herman. "Desmond's Department Store". Tessa: Digital Collections of the Los Angeles Public Library. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ a b "New Desmond Store Planned". The Los Angeles Times. 24 November 1929. p. 70. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ "Desmond's Westwood Store Opens New Home", Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep 1940, Page 75
- ^ "Desmond's Westwood Store Opens New Home". The Los Angeles Times. 15 September 1940. p. 75. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ "1001 Westwood Boulevard, Los Angeles, California". Google Maps. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ "Desmond's Suit Store, 1931 (Photo)". Historical Society of Long Beach. 16 November 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Desmond Store for Glendale". Independent. 14 August 1966. p. 70. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Desmond's Soon to Open Store at Broadway, Locust". The Long Beach Sun. 19 August 1931. p. 2. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ "Expansion of Desmond Store Planned". The Los Angeles Times. 27 December 1936. p. 53. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ "617 W. 7th St". Google Maps. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Desert Sun 13 November 1936 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu. Retrieved on 16 April 2019.
- ^ "Follow the Sun to Desmond's New Desert Store (advertisement)". The Los Angeles Times. 12 November 1936. p. 5. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ a b Hirsh, Lou (February 6, 2005). "Desmond's to Close?". Desert Sun (Palm Springs, CA).
- ^ "Eighth Desmond's Store to Open at Palm Springs". Daily News. 20 October 1936. p. 19. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ a b c "14 Mar 1953, 17 - The Los Angeles Times at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved on 16 April 2019.
- ^ "21 Nov 1955, 55 - The Los Angeles Times at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved on 16 April 2019.
- ^ a b "Desmond's to Open New Crenshaw Center store". The Los Angeles Times. 26 October 1952. p. 55. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ "Desmond's Will Open Eighth Southland Store". The Los Angeles Times. 29 May 1955. p. 17. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ "Desmond's Ninth Store Opens Tomorrow". The Register. 16 September 1958. p. 37. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Desmond's to Open Two New Stores Monday". The Los Angeles Times. 29 April 1962. p. 83. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ "Desmond's To Open Store In Whitwood". The Daily News. 24 October 1962. p. 8. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ "Desmond's-Ventura Store Opens Tomorrow". Ventura County Star. 27 August 1964. p. 26. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ "Desmond's Starts On New Store". Ventura County Star. 13 February 1964. p. 27. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ "Much Early California Design in Desmond's Lakewood Store". Press-Telegram. 14 June 1964. p. 69. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ "Store opens at Center". The Los Angeles Times. 3 April 1966. p. 156. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ "Plaza Desmond's Opened Friday". Ventura County Star. 13 August 1967. p. 22. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ Desmond's advertisement, Los Angeles Times, 11 September 1967, p. 7
- ^ "California Classic: Desmond's Reflects Early Simplicity". The Los Angeles Times. 31 October 1971. p. 206. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ "Desmond's liquidation Northridge West Covina". The Los Angeles Times. 26 December 1986. p. 21.
- ^ Kilmore, Margaret A. (February 11, 1977). "Ailing Desmond's Chain Acquired by Joint Venture". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "New men's store to open in Southern Hills Mall". Sioux City Journal. September 10, 1980.
- ^ "After 119 years, Desmonds still offers finest menswear". Austin American-Statesman. March 17, 1982.
- ^ "Advertisement for". Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, CO). June 15, 1981.
- ^ "Veteran N.D. Clothier Starts New Retail Chain". Bismarck Tribune. April 5, 1980.
- ^ Ritter, Bill (November 8, 1986). "Walker Scott to Close All 6 of its San Diego Stores". p. 44.
- ^ Escoffier, Wendy (September 27, 1987). "Final Flagstaff sale planned Yuma store future uncertain". Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, AZ).
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